Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Half an hour later, Yang Kai leaped down from the roof beam once more and nimbly came to stand beside Miao Hong’s bed.

A faint stench of blood remained in the air, but the blood Miao Hong coughed up earlier had already been cleaned up by the guards.

“I apologise for letting you see that, Little Brother.” Miao Hong abruptly opened his eyes.

Yang Kai jumped in fright. He thought that Miao Hong had fainted earlier, but it would now seem that Miao Hong was only pretending to be unconscious. Moreover, his tone of voice was so indifferent at this moment that Yang Kai couldn’t help wondering whether he had always known that his Wife was having an affair with another man.

In any case, the City Lord’s Wife was ruthless indeed. Miao Hong was already in this condition, but she still came over to specifically anger him. If it were anybody else, they might have died from rage just then. The fact that Miao Hong managed to survive showed that he was definitely a person who could endure pain, both physical and mental.

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling amazed. Despite travelling across many worlds for so many years, he had never encountered something like this before. Be that as it may, this incident confirmed his previous conjecture. He had definitely gotten involved in a troublesome matter on this trip to Heavenly Martial City.

“Little Brother, your pill is very effective!” Miao Hong exclaimed approvingly. He could clearly feel his vitality recovering slowly. If he previously had the mentality that it couldn’t hurt to give a dead horse medicine, he now had much more trust in Yang Kai, “At this point, I’m sure you’ve guessed the truth. This City Lord did not capture your subordinate who came here to offer medicine. Rather, it was the doing of others. They... want this City Lord dead!”

Yang Kai frowned, “If that’s the case, why don’t they make a move against you directly?”

Given Miao Hong’s current condition, he would probably be helpless to fight back if they attacked him.

Miao Hong coldly snorted, “If they make a move, they will leave behind too many traces. I have a friend who is coming to Heavenly Martial City in a few days. Those people would not survive if he noticed any issues.”

Realisation struck Yang Kai. He immediately understood why the City Lord’s Wife ran here specially and used such vicious words to anger Miao Hong. It was all to aggravate his injuries and hasten his death.

The friend that Miao Hong mentioned earlier was probably Gao Xin Peng. With the perception and experience of a Heaven Grade Alchemist, Gao Xin Peng would definitely notice if Miao Hong was murdered by somebody. On the other hand, there was nothing he could do if Miao Hong died of natural causes.

“Fortunately, the Heavens never close off all paths. This City Lord is thankful to have met you, Little Brother. Do you have more of the pills you gave me earlier, Little Brother?”

“I do.” Yang Kai nodded, “But, there’s another problem.”

“What problem?”

Yang Kai wrinkled his brow, “I did not know about your current condition when I refined these pills, so I didn’t consider something like this. These Vitality Pills will stimulate the vitality in your body after being consumed, but you also need to be supplemented with rich nutrients after taking them; otherwise, you will overdraw your remaining strength. Even if you can get through your current hardships, you will face endless troubles in the future.”

Miao Hong understood, “So, that’s how it is!”

He could tell that Yang Kai was not lying. Having consumed the Vitality Pills himself, he was the most aware of their effects on his body. After some consideration, he looked at Yang Kai earnestly, “Little Brother, I am afraid I must ask for your assistance. Can you help this City Lord bring in some supplements for the next few days. With your skills, you won’t have any trouble coming and going from this place as long as you’re careful. If this City Lord can survive this crisis, I will definitely reward you handsomely in the future.”

Yang Kai helplessly said, “That seems to be the only way.”

He only wanted to come and investigate the situation in the City Lord’s Mansion, but how could he have known that things would turn out like this? Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling speechless.

“City Lord Miao, my subordinate is still locked up in your dungeon currently. I don’t even know whether he is dead or alive!” Yang Kai said after a pause.

Miao Hong pondered in silence for a moment, “I’ll give you my Faith Token. Go and find a man named Huang Da. He is the Deacon of the City Lord’s Mansion. With his help, your subordinate will not be in danger.”

Although he was basically placed under house arrest by his own Wife, Miao Hong still had some loyal subordinates under him. This Deacon named Huang Da was probably one of them.

While speaking, Miao Hong took out a jade token the size of his palm from under his pillow.

Yang Kai took the jade token, which felt cool to the touch, and asked, “City Lord Miao, if Huang Da asks about your condition...”

Miao Hong’s eyes flashed, “You can tell him the truth!”

“Good!”

Afterward, Miao Hong told Yang Kai how to find Huang Da’s residence. Only then did Yang Kai take his leave.

The City Lord’s Mansion was not small. Fortunately, Yang Kai still had a faint recollection of the layout after his earlier exploration. With the help of Miao Hong’s directions, he quickly found Huang Da’s residence.

It was only natural that their first meeting was laced with some misunderstanding.

After Yang Kai revealed the Faith Token though, Huang Da became very emotional and asked about Miao Hong’s condition. As such, Yang Kai explained everything to him. Huang Da was both pleased and surprised by the news. It was not until Yang Kai mentioned Shi Ming Hui that he finally realised that the latter was Yang Kai’s subordinate.

“Don’t worry. Your subordinate is only being locked up in the dungeons for the time being and is in no real danger. The City Lord’s Mansion is currently facing troubled times with many people plotting in secret who do not want to raise any further fuss, so he won’t be in danger until the dust of this huge incident settles. If anything unexpected happens, this Old Master will help to watch out for him.” Huang Da promised.

“Many thanks, Deacon Huang.” Yang Kai responded politely.

After a busy night, it was almost morning by the time Yang Kai returned to his living quarters.

A short while later, Du Yu Yu came to greet him. Yang Kai handed her the note he prepared in advance and sent her to purchase some items.

Miao Hong needed a large amount of nutrients to support his waning vitality; however, his body could not currently withstand the burden of strong supplements. Even his cultivation that was at the peak of the Heaven Realm could not help in this particular case; therefore, Yang Kai needed to think of a gentler method. After some consideration, Yang Kai determined that preparing a medicinal soup was the safest option.

Du Yu Yu did not know what Yang Kai wanted these ingredients for, but her biggest merit was her obedience. It didn’t take long before she returned after buying the listed items.

In the meantime, Yang Kai casually asked about Kou Yong.

Kou Yong was the man who had an affair with the City Lord’s Wife. According to the City Lord’s Wife, her Daughter was the result of her affair with him.

“Kou Yong?” Du Yu Yu pondered for a moment, “Is Sir referring to Heavenly Martial City’s Vice City Lord? I think he is in the Seventh-Step or Eighth-Step Heaven Realm!”

Yang Kai raised a brow at those words. It was not judgemental... He just felt that Miao Hong’s life was quite pitiful.

Yang Kai was busy all day, and when night fell, he secretly snuck into the City Lord’s Mansion again, this time to deliver food to Miao Hong...

The effects of the Vitality Pill were evident, and after finishing off a huge pot of medicinal soup, Miao Hong’s complexion became noticeably rosier. He was full of praise for Yang Kai, complementing him on being a promising young man. It was clear that he was trying to win Yang Kai over; after all, it was impossible to find another person in the Divine Armament World who not only stood at the peak of the Earth Realm but was also an Earth Grade Alchemist at such a young age. It would surely be helpful if he could win Yang Kai over.

In the following days, Yang Kai would head to the City Lord’s Mansion at night to deliver nutrient-rich tonics to Miao Hong in order to supplement the Vitality Pills he had provided.

Miao Hong’s condition improved by the day, but his underlying injuries did not heal. There was no saying exactly how much strength he could exert, so he continued to endure under these circumstances and he would deliberately pretend to be dying whenever his Wife came to visit him.

The City Lord’s Wife would visit every few nights, and each time she came, she would viciously provoke him until he coughed up blood before she left in satisfaction.

On one occasion, Yang Kai was hiding on the roof beam when he saw the City Lord’s Wife and Kou Yong visiting together. They kissed and flirted openly right in front of Miao Hong...

This time around, Miao Hong was probably so angry that he passed out for real as it took Yang Kai a lot of effort to wake him up again.

On a certain day, Yang Kai was here to deliver the medicinal soup and Vitality Pills. After Miao Hong finished consuming both, he lay back on the bed and said, “Little Brother, I need to ask you for a favour.”

Yang Kai put away the items he brought and said, “Please speak freely, City Lord Miao.”

“I want you to go and welcome the Heaven Grade Alchemist of Profound Pill Sect, Gao Xin Peng!” Miao Hong panted for breath, “According to the plan, Alchemist Gao will arrive at Heavenly Martial City in three days’ time, but that cheating couple will not wait that long. You’ve seen the current situation over the past few days. They can’t wait for me to die. If I’m still alive when Gao Xin Peng arrives, they will probably risk making a move directly. That’s why I want you to meet Alchemist Gao and ask him to hasten his arrival, preferably without allowing anyone to find out.”

Yang Kai smiled, “Don’t worry, City Lord Miao. I’ve already taken care of this matter. There’s no need to disturb Alchemist Gao.”

Yang Kai had anticipated the situation that Miao Hong mentioned. Knowing that the City Lord’s Wife and Kou Yong would become desperate, he had made preparations in advance.

“Oh?” Miao Hong was surprised, “What have you arranged, Little Brother?”

Yang Kai reached into his pocket, took out a small jade bottle, and tipped out a longan-sized black pill from the bottle, “This is a Turtle Breath Pill. City Lord Miao, you will fall into a kind of false-death state after consuming this pill. Both your vitality and aura will be suppressed to the point that even those two will not be able to detect it.”

Miao Hong was extremely astonished. Taking the Turtle Breath Pill from Yang Kai’s hand, he asked a little hesitantly, “Is this pill really that effective?”

“City Lord Miao, do you not trust me?”

Miao Hong shook his head, “I might not have known you for long, but I can tell that you’re a brave and righteous young man. If you really wanted to harm this City Lord, you could have made your move a long time ago. Besides, you saved this City Lord’s life, so how can I not trust you?”

“It’s best if you can trust me, City Lord Miao. You don’t need to worry either as this Turtle Breath Pill does not have any negative side-effects. You just need to consume the antidote later and you will wake up within a quarter hour.” Yang Kai paused for a moment, “Besides, meeting Alchemist Gao now will only tip them off. They also know that Alchemist Gao is your only hope, City Lord Miao, so I’m sure they’re already monitoring his approach. There’s no saying what consequences we might face if we rashly contact him at this time.”

Miao Hong pondered for a moment and nodded, “Your words make sense, Little Brother. Let’s follow your plan.”

Yang Kai did not know how much Miao Hong trusted him, but it was clear that someone as stubborn and forbearing as Miao Hong would not be a kind man at heart. The betrayal of his closest confidante would surely have caused him to lose his trust in others. Nevertheless, he could probably sense that Yang Kai had no ill will towards him. Coupled with the fact that he had experienced Yang Kai’s abilities over the past few days, it was reason enough to accept Yang Kai’s suggestion.

Two nights later, Yang Kai hid on the roof beam and personally witnessed as the City Lord’s Wife, Qin You Shuang, and Kou Yong angered Miao Hong so much that he spat up three litres of blood and ‘died’ on the spot!